Polish pad replacing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A polish pad replacing apparatus includes a polish spindle loaded with a first polish pad, a first roller movable reciprocally under the polish spindle, a clamping element and a position sensor. The clamping element, disposed at the first roller, is to clamp or release the first polish pad. In replacing the first polish pad, a controller moves the polish spindle to a replacing position, the position sensor detects the polish spindle and if positive, have the controller to moves the first roller to insert the clamping element between the polish spindle and the first polish pad so as to clamp an edge of the first polish pad, the first roller is then moved to peel the first polish pad off, and then the first roller is moved to paste a second polish pad onto the polish spindle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefits of Taiwan application Serial No. 110143927, filed on Nov. 25, 2021, the disclosures of which are incorporated by references herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates in general to a polish pad replacing apparatus.

BACKGROUND

In grinding and/or polishing a workpiece made of composite materials, the powder and/or dust generated in these processes is usually harmful to human body.

Currently, although the robotic arms have been widely applied to integrate grinding and polishing tools for performing automatic grinding and polishing so as to replace manpower, yet replacement of grinding and polish pads (commonly known as sandpapers) is still manually operated. When manually replacing the grinding and polish pad, the grinding and polishing machine needs to be stopped firstly. Thus, a time-consuming and labor-intensive process is inevitable, and the operating environment could be dangerous.

In addition, although some devices have claimed in open documents the ability of automatically replacing the polish pads, yet such devices are not good at removing or replacing the polish pads, generally by using jaws for scraping or clamping. However, these operations can only be performed through complex mechanical devices. In addition, in some replacing operations, additional mechanisms may be required. Inevitably, these above-mentioned factors may lead to higher cost, complicated structuring, complicated operation modes, time-consuming and labor-consuming.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of this disclosure, a polish pad replacing apparatus, comprising:

-   a polish spindle, configured to load a first polish pad; -   a first roller, configured to move and/or roll reciprocally under     the polish spindle; -   a clamping element, disposed at the first roller, configured to     clamp or release the first polish pad; and -   a position sensor, configured to detect positions of the polish     spindle and the first roller; -   wherein, while in replacing the first polish pad, a controller moves     the polish spindle to a replacing position; when the position sensor     detects that the polish spindle is in position, the controller moves     and/or rolls the first roller to insert the clamping element between     the polish spindle and the first polish pad; after the clamping     element clamps an edge of the first polish pad, the first roller is     moved and/or rolled to peel the first polish pad off the polish     spindle; and, the first roller is controlled to move and/or roll     further to paste a second polish pad to the polish spindle.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the polish pad replacing apparatus in accordance with this disclosure;

FIG. 1A is a schematic enlarged view of the first roller and the clamping element of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 1B is another view of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C shows schematically reciprocating motion of the first roller with respect to the clamping element of FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 2A to 2M show schematically different operation states of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the polish pad replacing apparatus in accordance with this disclosure; and

FIGS. 4A to 4I show schematically different operation states of FIG. 3 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a polish pad replacing apparatus 100 includes a polish spindle 10, a first roller 20, a clamping element 30 and a position sensor 40.

The polish spindle 10, the first roller 20, the clamping element 30 and the position sensor 40 are all driven by a controller (not shown in the figure), and the controller can be a micro-processor, a computer, an industrial computer or a combination of at least two of the aforesaid devices.

The polish spindle 10 is configured for loading a first polish pad P. A velcro is provided between the first polish pad P and the polish spindle 10 for an adherence purpose, such that the first polish pad P can be fixed to a bottom surface of the polish spindle 10. Generally, the polish spindle 10 is connected with a robotic arm.

The first roller 20, shaped as a cylinder, has a first axle C20. The first roller 20 is driven to rotate about the first axle C20, or to move and/or roll reciprocally in a first direction F1 under the polish spindle 10.

The first roller 20 is furnished thereon an adhesive area 22A for adhering a second polish pad NP (as shown in FIG. 2A).

The clamping element 30, disposed on the first roller 20, is configured for clamping or releasing the first polish pad P.

The position sensor 40 is configured to detect positions of the polish spindle 10 and the first roller 20.

The first roller 20 and the position sensor 40 are individually disposed at a frame 50. The frame 50 is provided thereunder a recycle tank 60 for collecting the first polish pad P separated from the polish spindle 10.

Along the moving and/or rolling path of the first roller 20, the frame 50 is further defined thereof with a polish-pad attachment area 51 for disposing thereon at least one third polish pad NP1. As the first roller 20 moves and/or rolls over the third polish pad NP1, the adhesive 22A on the first roller 20 would adhere the third polish pad NP1 prepared in the polish-pad attachment area 51.

As described, the velcro may be provided between the first polish pad P and the polish spindle 10 of FIG. 1 . Similarly, another velcro may be provided to a surface of the second polish pad NP of FIG. 1B opposite to the first roller 20, with the adhesion of this velcro between the second polish pad NP and the adhesive 22A to be less than that between the second polish pad NP and the polish spindle 10. In addition, a further velcro may be provided to a surface of the third polish pad NP1 of FIG. 1 opposite to the first roller 20, with the adhesion of this velcro between the third polish pad NP1 and the adhesive 22A to be less than that between the third polish pad NP1 and the polish spindle 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 1A, 1B and 1C, the clamping element 30, shaped as a slim plate, is disposed onto a cutout portion 21 formed on the first roller 20.

The clamping element 30 has two pillars 32 with individual axes C32 parallel to each other. Each of the pillars 32 is protruded downward from a bottom surface 31 of the clamping element 30 toward the first roller 20.

A pair of holes 23 are furnished at the cutout portion 21 of the first roller 20 to receive correspondingly the two pillars 32. Each of the pillars 32 is inserted into the corresponding hole 23. The pillars 32 are connected with a controller, so as for the controller to drive the two pillar 32 to undergo reciprocating motions parallel to the corresponding axes C32, such that the clamping element 30 can proceed reciprocating motions with respect to the surface of the cutout portion 21 on the first roller 20 for varying the spacing between the clamping element 30 and the cutout portion 21 of the first roller 20.

Referring to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2J, different states of the polish pad replacing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 are schematically provided to illustrate steps of separating the first polish pad from the polish spindle and adhering the second polish pad to the polish spindle.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the polish spindle 10 is loaded with the first polish pad P, the first roller 20 and the position sensor 40 are disposed at the frame 50, and the clamping element 30 is disposed on the first roller 20. One surface of the first roller 20 (i.e., the surface defining the adhesive 22A of FIG. 1B) is provided, by adhering, with a second polish pad NP. It is noted that, in this stage, the polish-pad attachment area 51 is free of any polish pad.

Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, in order to replace the first polish pad P, the controller firstly moves the polish spindle 10 to a replacing position, as shown in FIG. 2B.

Refer to FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D, in which FIG. 2D is a schematic enlarged view of area A of FIG. 2C. When the position sensor 40 of FIG. 2A detects that the polish spindle 10 has been in position, the position sensor 40 would issue a signal to the controller, and then the controller would move and/or roll the first roller 20 to have the clamping element 30 to be inserted into the gap between the polish spindle 10 and the first polish pad P. Then, the clamping element 30 is controlled by the controller to move toward the cutout portion 21 of the first roller 20, such that an edge of the first polish pad P can be clamped between the clamping element 30 and the first roller 20.

Refer to FIG. 2E and FIG. 2F, where the first roller 20 is rotated. When the first roller 20 passes thereunder through the polish spindle 10, the first polish pad P can be peeled off from the bottom of the polish spindle 10, and then attached onto the first roller 20. The first roller 20 is then kept to roll to completely peel the first polish pad P away from the polish spindle 10.

Referring to FIG. 2G and FIG. 2H, after the first polish pad P is completely separated from the polish spindle 10 and clamped by the first roller 20, the first roller 20 is kept to rotate to a position (as shown in FIG. 2G), and then controlled to move and/or roll to pass thereunder through the polish spindle 10. Since the adhesion of the velcro between the second polish pad NP and the adhesive 22A (as shown in FIG. 1B) is less than that between the second polish pad NP and the polish spindle 10. Thus, while the first roller 20 passes thereunder through the polish spindle 10, the velcro is applied to paste the second polish pad NP to the bottom of the polish spindle 10.

Referring to FIG. 2I, after the second polish pad NP is completely pasted to the polish spindle 10, then the first roller 20 would be located right above the recycle tank 60. As the position sensor 40 of FIG. 2A detects that the first roller 20 is posed above the recycle tank 60, a signal would be generated to control the first roller 20 to stop moving and/or rolling, and then the clamping element 30 is raised to release the first polish pad P, such that the first polish pad P can drop into the recycle tank 60.

Referring to FIG. 2J, after the second polish pad NP is completely pasted onto the bottom portion of the polish spindle 10, then the polish spindle 10 can be controlled to raise and move to a polish operation area.

Referring to FIGS. 2K to 2M, consecutive steps are demonstrated to illustrate how a third polish pad can be pasted onto the first roller.

As shown in FIG. 2K, after the step in FIG. 2J is finished, the third polish pad NP1 can be disposed in the polish-pad attachment area 51, and then the first roller 20 is controlled to roll toward the third polish pad NP1.

Referring to FIG. 2L and FIG. 2M, after the first roller 20 passes through the polish-pad attachment area 51, the third polish pad NP1 can be attached onto the first roller 20. At this time, the first roller 20 is would be controlled to self-rotate so as to have the clamping element 30 to be on top of the first roller 20, as shown in FIG. 2M.

Referring to FIG. 2M, after the clamping element 30 is rotated to top the first roller 20, the first roller 20 is controlled to move to a dash-lined position shown in FIG. 2M; i.e., the position of the first roller 20 shown in FIG. 2A. Thereafter, a next cycle of replacing the polish pad can be initiated. Namely, the second polish pad NP can be peeled off the first roller 20. While the first roller 20 having the third polish pad NP1 is to pass thereunder through the polish spindle 10, the third polish pad NP1 can be pasted to the bottom of the polish spindle 10, and vice versa.

Referring to FIG. 3 , a schematic view of another embodiment of the polish pad replacing apparatus in accordance with this disclosure is shown. In this embodiment, the polish pad replacing apparatus 100A includes a polish spindle 10, a first roller 20A, a second roller 20B, a clamping element 30 and a position sensor 40.

The polish spindle 10, the first roller 20A, the second roller 20B, the clamping element 30 and the position sensor 40 are all driven by a controller (not shown in the figure).

The polish spindle 10 is structured to load a first polish pad P.

The first roller 20A, shaped as a cylinder, has a first axle C20A. The first roller 20A is driven to rotate about the first axle C20A, or to move and/or roll reciprocally in a first direction F1 under the polish spindle 10.

The second roller 20B, shaped as another cylinder, has a second axle C20B. The second roller 20B is driven to rotate about the second axle C20B, or to move and/or roll reciprocally in the first direction F1. In addition, the first axle C20A and the second axle C20B are parallel to each other.

The second roller 20B is furnished thereon an adhesive area 22B for adhering a second polish pad NP (as shown in FIG. 4A).

The clamping element 30, disposed on the first roller 20A, is configured for clamping or releasing the first polish pad P.

The position sensor 40 is used for detect positions of the polish spindle 10, the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B.

The first roller 20A, the second roller 20B and the position sensor 40 are individually disposed at a frame 50. A recycle tank 60, provided under the frame 50, is configured to collect the first polish pad P peeled off the polish spindle 10.

Along the moving and/or rolling path of the second roller 20B, the frame 50 is further defined thereof with a polish-pad attachment area 51 for disposing thereon at least one third polish pad NP1. As the second roller 20B moves and/or rolls over the third polish pad NP1, the adhesive 22B on the second roller 20B would adhere the third polish pad NP1 prepared in the polish-pad attachment area 51.

Similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A-2M, a velcro may be provided between the first polish pad P and the polish spindle 10 of FIG. 3 . Similarly, another velcro may be provided to a surface of the second polish pad NP of FIG. 4A opposite to the second roller 20B, with the adhesion of this velcro between the second polish pad NP and the adhesive 22B to be less than that between the second polish pad NP and the polish spindle 10. In addition, a further velcro may be provided to a surface of the third polish pad NP1 of FIG. 1 opposite to the second roller 20B, with the adhesion of this velcro between the third polish pad NP1 and the adhesive 22B to be less than that between the third polish pad NP1 and the polish spindle 10.

Referring to FIG. 4A to FIG. 4I, different states of the polish pad replacing apparatus 100A of FIG. 3 are schematically provided to illustrate consecutive steps of separating and then adhering the polish pads.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the polish spindle 10 is loaded with the first polish pad P, the first roller 20A, the second roller 20B and the position sensor 40 are disposed at the frame 50, and the clamping element 30 is disposed on the first roller 20A. One surface of the second roller 20B is provided, by adhering, with a second polish pad NP.

Referring to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, in order to replace the first polish pad P, the controller firstly moves the polish spindle 10 to a replacing position, as shown in FIG. 4B. At this stage, the polish-pad attachment area 51 is free of any polish pad.

Refer to FIG. 4C. When the position sensor 40 of FIG. 4A detects that the polish spindle 10 has been in position, the position sensor 40 would issue a signal to the controller, and then the controller would move and/or roll the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B to have the clamping element 30 to be inserted into the gap between the polish spindle 10 and the first polish pad P. Then, the clamping element 30 would be lowered to have an edge of the first polish pad P can be clamped between the clamping element 30 and the first roller 20A. Please also refer to the foregoing description related to FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D for details of clamping the edge of the first polish pad P between the clamping element 30 and the first roller 20A

Referring to FIG. 4D, after the first polish pad P is clamped by the clamping element 30 and the first roller 20A, the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B would be moved and/or rolled further to peel the first polish pad P off the polish spindle 10. Then, the first polish pad P would be adhered to and thus moved with the first roller 20A.

Referring to FIG. 4E and FIG. 4F, after the first roller 20A peels the first polish pad P away from the polish spindle 10, the second roller 20B would be roughly moved and/or rolled to reach a position under the polish spindle 10, such that the second roller 20B can adhere the second polish pad NP to the bottom of the polish spindle 10. By controlling appropriately moving/rolling speeds of the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B, the peeling and adhering operation of the polish pads can be continuously and smoothly performed.

Referring to FIG. 4G, after the first roller 20A peels the first polish pad P of the polish spindle 10, and the second polish pad NP is completely pasted to the bottom of the polish spindle 10, the first roller 20A would be located right above the recycle tank 60. As the position sensor 40 of FIG. 4A detects that the first roller 20A is moved and/or rolled to top the recycle tank 60, a corresponding signal would be issued to control the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B to stop moving and/or rolling, and then the clamping element 30 would be raised to release and drop the first polish pad P into the recycle tank 60.

Referring to FIG. 4H, after the second polish pad NP is completely adhered to the bottom of the polish spindle 10, the polish spindle 10 would be controlled to raise and displace to the polish operation area. Simultaneously, the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B would be reversely moved and/or rolled. At this time, the polish-pad attachment area 51 is already provided with the third polish pad NP1.

Referring to FIG. 4I, when the second roller 20B reaches the polish-pad attachment area 51, the third polish pad NP1 would be adhered to a surface of the second roller 20B (i.e., the adhesive 22B of FIG. 3 ), and the first roller 20A would be controlled to self-rotate so as to have the clamping element 30 to top the first roller 20A. Then, by keeping moving and/or rolling the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B, the state shown in FIG. 4A can be resumed, and thus another cycle of replacing the polish pad can be initiated (i.e., to peel the second polish pad NP from the first roller 20A). While the second roller 20B carries the third polish pad NP1 to pass thereunder the polish spindle 10, the third polish pad NP1 can be pasted to the polish spindle 10, and vice versa.

In the foregoing description, two embodiments of this disclosure are introduced; one shown from FIG. 1 to FIG. 2M, while another from FIG. 3 to FIG. 4I. The major difference in between is that the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 2M provides a single roller to complete the operation of peeling the first polish pad P and pasting the second polish pad NP and the third polish pad NP1.The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 4I provides two rollers to complete, respectively, the operation of peeling the first polish pad P and another operation of pasting the second polish pad NP and the third polish pad NP1. In another example, the embodiment of FIG. 3 to FIG. 4I can have one of the two rollers to peel the first polish pad and also paste the second polish pad.

In summary, the polish pad replacing apparatus provided by any of FIG. 1 (with the first roller 20) or FIG. 3 (with the first roller 20A and the second roller 20B) of this disclosure is characterized in utilizing the roller(s) to separate one polish pad from the polish spindle and then paste another polish pad to the same polish spindle.

In addition, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to the replacing of old or new polishing pads, but can also be used to replace the polish pads of different specifications.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A polish pad replacing apparatus, comprising: a polish spindle, configured to load a first polish pad; a first roller, configured to move and/or roll reciprocally under the polish spindle; a clamping element, disposed at the first roller, configured to clamp or release the first polish pad; and a position sensor, configured to detect positions of the polish spindle and the first roller; wherein, while in replacing the first polish pad, a controller moves the polish spindle to a replacing position; when the position sensor detects that the polish spindle is in position, the controller moves and/or rolls the first roller to insert the clamping element between the polish spindle and the first polish pad; after the clamping element clamps an edge of the first polish pad, the first roller is moved and/or rolled to peel the first polish pad off the polish spindle; and, the first roller is controlled to move and/or roll further to paste a second polish pad to the polish spindle.
 2. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clamping element is shaped as slim plate able to undergo a reciprocating motion with respect to a surface of the first roller for varying a distance between the clamping element and the first roller.
 3. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the clamping element has a plurality of pillars parallel to each other, the plurality of pillars are protruded from the clamping element toward the surface of the first roller, the first roller is furnished with a plurality of holes correspondingly with respect to the plurality of pillars, each of the plurality of pillars is to be inserted to one said hole, and the plurality of pillars are connected with the controller; wherein the controller is to drive the plurality of pillars to undergo the reciprocating motion.
 4. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the surface of the first roller is formed by a cutout portion thereof, and the clamping element is disposed within the cutout portion.
 5. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first roller is shaped as a cylinder having a first axle, and the first roller is rotated about the first axle to move and/or roll reciprocally in a first direction.
 6. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 1, further including a polish-pad attachment area provided with at least one third polish pad, the third polish pad being disposed at a moving and/or rolling path of the first roller, the first roller being furnished thereon an adhesive; wherein, while the first roller is rotated to reach the polish-pad attachment area, the adhesive would adhere the third polish pad to the first roller.
 7. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 6, wherein a velcro is provided between a surface of the third polish pad opposite to the adhesive and the polish spindle; wherein, while the first roller loaded with the third polish pad moves and/or rolls to pass thereunder through the polish spindle, the third polish pad is pasted to the polish spindle.
 8. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 5, further including a second roller, the second roller being shaped as a cylinder having a second axle, the second roller being rotated about the second axle to move and/or roll reciprocally in the first direction, the first axle and the second axle being parallel to each other.
 9. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 8, further including a polish-pad attachment area provided with at least one third polish pad, the third polish pad being disposed at a moving and/or rolling path of the second roller, the second roller being furnished thereon an adhesive; wherein, while the second roller is rotated to reach the polish-pad attachment area, the adhesive would adhere the third polish pad to the second roller.
 10. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 9, wherein a velcro is provided between a surface of the third polish pad opposite to the adhesive and the polish spindle; wherein, while the second roller loaded with the third polish pad moves and/or rolls to pass thereunder through the polish spindle, the third polish pad is pasted to the polish spindle.
 11. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 1, further including a recycle tank for collecting the first polish pad peeled away from the polish spindle; wherein, after the first roller peels the first polish pad off the polish spindle, the first polish pad is adhered on the first roller to move with the first roller; wherein, when the position sensor detects that the first roller moves and/or rolls to top the recycle tank, a signal is issued to stop the first roller, and then to control the clamping element to release the first polish pad to drop into the recycle tank.
 12. The polish pad replacing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first roller and the position sensor are disposed at a frame, and the recycle tank is disposed under the frame. 